a JForgotten Chancellor ano .

BY A. S. BICKNELL, F.R.A.S., F.L.S.

AS the records of a private family are seldom of sufficient importance to claim a place in the Proceedings of an Archaeological Society, these notes are offered by me with diffidence, and only because I think they may here and there illumine an obscure corner of what I may term the minor

Story of . If I have another object, it is that I hope to show, with singular clearness, how a family, bearing a name derived from a village in Normandy, appropriated for their convenience that of a manor in , the spelling of both

varying thenceforth nearly simultaneously ; and that further I believe, though it is rarely possible to point out definitely the first possessor of a particular surname, because generally he has vanished in the mist of time, in this instance I am able to do so ; and certainly at least I can give an outline sketch of some forgotten Somersetshire worthies long passed away. In rather an out-of-the-way spot, about five miles N.w. of

Ilminster, beneath a sombre, forest-clad, projecting hill, con- spicuous from the environs of Taunton, there are a few scattered cottages and a modern chapel. The height, rising

820 feet above the sea, is popularly known as Beacon Hill, and the country it seems to guard is the ancient manor of Byken- hulle. The Exon Domesday calls the place Bichehalda, and ; ;

180 Papers, fyc.

" the great Exchequer one says : William holds of the Earl,

Bichehalle ; Aluric held it in the time of King Edward." Bichehalda and Bichehalle, however, are only semi-phonetic renderings by Norman scribes of the Anglo-Saxon word their ears were not attuned to catch correctly : at all events these names appear no more. The derivation of Bykenhulle is at once apparent : Anglo-Saxon Bycn or Bykene, a beacon

Hulle or Hyll, a hill ; and for centuries after the invasion the spelling scarcely altered. Our knowledge of the holders of the manor goes no farther back than Aluric, no charter or other document of earlier date, giving another name, having come to light, although this much is ascertained from Domes- day, that formerly the manor paid customs to Curry Rivell. 1 William the Conqueror had granted the manor to his natural half-brother Robert, Earl of Cornwall, and Earl or Count of Mortain, 2 as an unconsidered trine in a gift of seven hundred

and ninety seven manors ; so it is not surprising that the latter accepted the tenure of William de l'Estre. 3 Sometime after-

(1) . Another Bykenhulle, in N. Wilts, however, occurs in the Appendix to a Latin Charter of Athelstan, dated a.d. 931, and a spot called Bacon Hill

may be the same place, though I doubt if the name is sufficiently ancient.

(2) . He married Matilda, youngest daughter of Roger de Montgomery,

earl of Arundel, and died in 1091. Mortain is about twenty miles e. of

Avranches in Normandy, and is often confounded with Mortagne in the de- partment of Orne. William, the son of the above Robert of Mortain, succeeded to his father's titles and possessions, but having rebelled a,gainst Henry I in 1103-4, was banished. Being taken prisoner in 1106, he was conveyed to England, where his eyes were put out, and after a long imprisonment he was only released on condition that he became a monk. His earldom was given to Stephen of Blois, afterwards king of England. Forty nine of the 797 manors

were in Dorset and Somerset. ''The Norman People," pp. 137, 145, 243 ; Banks'

ii, Archceo- "Baronia Anglia," vol. p. 104 ; Map of Domesday Manors, Somerset logical Proceedings, vol. v. p. 35

(3) . Estre is near Valognes, Normandy. Richard de l'Estre had land in Normandy from the time of the Conquest. In 1165 a Richard de l'Estre held a barony of four knights' fees in Somerset. In 1272 Robert de l'Estre was " " Viscount of Dorset. Liber Niger Scaccari " ; '-Testa de Nevill ; "The

" vol. i, Norman People," p. 234 ; Dugdales Baronage of England," p. 24

"Annals of England," p. 104, supervised by Dr. Stubbs ; Somerset Archaeological Proceedings, vol. xxxvi, p. 21. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 181 wards the forfeiture of the earls of Mortain occurred, and then the descendants of William de l'Estre, as a legal consequence, held their part of the land directly from the king in capite per

Baroniam, till about the year 1260, when Johanne, daughter of another William de l'Estre, married Robert de Pavilly, anglice Paveley, bringing the manor to him as her dower. The Paveleys were a baronial family from Pavilly,4 a town twelve miles N.w. of , where the lord Amalbert had founded a monastery in 664, and some of them having passed over to England, either with the Conqueror or shortly afterwards, they soon became a powerful race, established in at least twelve counties. 5 Reginald de Paveley joined in the first crusade, and fell, circa 1104, at Acre : we find Ralph de Paveley witnessing a charter of William earl of Surrey in the

reign of Henry I ; and Henry III, in 1241, sent money to Thomas de Paveley [probably son of Thomas de Paveifli, knight banneret, who served in France during the reign of Philip II,] for his journey to join him in Anjou. Another Reginald was summoned as baron in 1260 to attend the king in council : John de Paveley was rector of Hooke, near

6 Beaminster, in 1312 ; Richard de Pavely and Sir John, who died 1361, were priors of the hospital of St. John of

Jerusalem ; lastly Sir Walter became one of the founder- knights of the Garter. In 1281 John de Paveley, evidently named after his mother Johanne, died seized of Bykenhulle, the adjoining Clopton, and eight other manors in Somerset, his heir being his son, also called John. 7 Roger de Clop- ton however, in 1302-3, is described as holding Clopton

(4) . It contains about 1500 inhabitants at present and considerable manu- facture of cotton. The monastery was restored by Thomas de Pavilly about

1090 : the existing church of the twelfth century is on its site.

(5) . Somerset, Devon, Wilts, Hants, Buckingham, Oxford, Herts, Suffolk, Norfolk, Derby, Nottingham, and Northumberland.

(6) . Hutchins' "History of Dorset," vol. i, p. 495 ; vol. ii, p. 166.

(7) . Inq. P.M. Calendarium Genealogicum, 1865. 182 Papers, 8fc. from John de Bykenhulle, 8 but as we know that John de Paveley was at the same date tenant in capite of Clopton under the king, it follows manifestly that John de Paveley and John de Bykenhulle are the same person. If further proof is necessary that Paveley and Bykenhulle are synony- mous, we have it in the fact that both Walter and John de Paveley appear in the assessment of 1326-7 as Walter and John de Bykenhulle. 9 Nor is the explanation of this metamorphosis difficult to give when we discover that there were several John de Paveleys living at the same time, and that they only followed an established custom in adopting for a junior branch of the family a distinctive surname from one of their manors, to avoid confusion. In feudal times indeed the practice of assuming different surnames was by no means un- " common : a family chose any appellation they preferred, and it might be taken from the particular castle where the signa- ture happened to be written, or from the superior fee of which the place once formed a portion, or from any name whatever which was most flattering to fancy or ambition." 10 Baldwin, first earl of Devon, used six surnames in his charters, he called

himself : Baldwin Fitz-Gilbert. „ Vice Comes. „ de Devonia. „ de Excestre. „ de Brionis. „ de Maelis. And his eldest and second sons, not content with a choice from the above six, signed respectively, Baldwin de Biveriis and Baldwin de Vernon. In Domesday the earl of Brionne bears

five surnames :

" (8) . Supplement to Kirby's Quest." Somerset Record Society. ^-§-9- (9) . Exchequer Lay Sub.

vol. i, 8. (10) . Wiffen's "Historical Memorials of the House of Russell," p. Lower's " Patronymica Britannica," 1860.

DugdaWs " Baronage," vol. i, p. 254. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 183

Richard de Tonbridge. „ Benfeld. „ Benefacto. „ de Clare. „ FitzGilbert. Consequently here we have eight surnames used by three mem- bers of one family, and ten by two. Even at the present day the

11 custom is exemplified in the titles borne by peers' eldest sons.

Before the end of the thirteenth century I know of no mention of Bykenhulle except to denote a place, whilst thence- forth it runs also as a surname through many generations, the word gradually being modified in its spelling, and concurrently denoting both the manor or hamlet and the people, till it becomes the Bicknell of to-day. The following table illus-

trates this : Place called Surname called a.d. 1276 circa A.v. 1260 John de Pavilly ) B ^enjj Yle * and earlier [ (Paveley) mar- ried Johanne de l'Estre (de By- kenhulle). 1297, 1316 Bykenhulle or 1302 John de Byken- Bikenhulle. hulle. 1368 Bikenoll. 1351 Bickernoll. 1411 Bykenyll. 1425 Bykenell. 1443 Bikenhill. 1443 Biconyll. 1475 Byconyll. 1451 Byconyll. 1523 Biknell. 1523 Biknell. 1547 Bycknell. 1544 Bycknell.

1597 Bicknell, etc. 1585 Bicknell, etc. 12

till 1745 till to day.

(11) . The following is an instance of a name being changed twice : —Robert de Mandevill had a son, "Galfrid de Mandevill scilicet Galfrid de Cotre," who begat Robert de Mandevill. —R. Hist. Com. Rep. 44 Wells Cath. MSS.," vol. i, p. 222. (24 May. 8 K. John).

(12) Forty -seven spellings of Bicknell are known to me. "

184 Papers,

Perhaps it may be asked why the village is now called

Bickenhall, which does not appear in the above list. The cause is singular and ridiculous. Till 1745 the name had always been some legitimate variation of Bykenhulle, when at that date the curate in charge, remembering that Bichehalle was in Domesday, and desiring doubtless to earn distinction as an etymologist, suddenly and boldly headed a new register with his invention " Bickenhall," and this hybrid monster has crept into our maps, our books, and upon our signposts, although the pronunciation of the peasantry continues to be " Bicknell all the same. Strange to narrate, a transformation much resembling this occurred also at Bykenhulle in Warwickshire. The manor likewise misspelt in Domesday, " Bicheh

Turchil de Warwick possessed it in the Conqueror's time, was in part subsequently assigned to the House of Arden, one of whom assumed the surname of Bickenhull, and whose descend- ant was the Incumbent in 1416, the family shortly after- wards becoming extinct. We find, however, that the place passed through varieties of name just as the other Bykenhulle in Somerset, till it ultimately became " Bicknell," and quite recently and correctly, " Bickenhill." a.d. 1187 Thomas de Bikenhull. 1273 to 1464 Bikenhull or Bykenhull. 1535 Bykynhull.

From Elizabeth's reign or earlier, Bicknell.

I may here mention that all forms of Bignell, Bignold, and

Bucknell are in no way connected with Bicknell : they are not Somerset names. The first originally came from Bygenhulle or Bygnelle, in Oxfordshire, and with the second established

itself in the eastern counties ; while the last, I think, may be traced from Herefordshire. Only in comparatively modern times has Bignell occasionally been written in Somerset by vulgar mistake for Bicknell. After the adoption of the surname Bikenhulle by Robert de

Paveley, there must of course at first have been very few ;

A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 185 persons so denominated, and no particulars have come down to us concerning any of them till the year 1425, when William

Biconyll (or Byconyll or Bykenel) is recorded as the incum- bent of Charlton Mackerell, and later of Mells. 13 His father's name was John, and his mother's Jane or Joane, and he tells us he had one brother John and a sister Elizabeth, but that is all we know of his near relatives. He must, however, have been a man of talent and well connected, or he could scarcely have obtained the offices he held. Pluralists, I daresay, were commoner then than now, and family interest more potent, still, even these alone would hardly have made him at the

14 same time rector of CliiFe at Hoo, near Rochester ; rector of

15 Tring with Wigginton, Herts ; canon of Lincoln, with the

16 prebend of St. Margaret's, Leicester ; canon of Wells

17 canon of St. Paul's, with the prebendal stall of Eald St. ; commissary official of the court of Canterbury, and chancellor of the . 18 Perhaps even a greater proof of his capacity was his being selected by the famous archbishop Chichele to be one of his trustees and executors. Very likely he drew up the Constitution of All Souls'

College, Oxford, founded by Chichele in 1437, or at all events he assisted Lyndwood, to whom I am aware it is sometimes, without proof, attributed. In the college archives his name occurs several times between 1443 and 1446, and he was well known at the University where he had taken his LL.D. degree.

(13) " Somerset Incumbents," by the Rev. F. W. Weaver.

(14) Instituted Nov. 16, 1445, on the death of John Prentys.

(15) " Register Stafford," fol. 50.

(16) a.d. 1445. In Le Neve's "Fasti Ecc. Angl." the name is called "Bricknell," and the date of death wrongly given as 1478.

(17) He succeeded, Nov., 1445, on the resignation of Ap Rice. " Register

Gilbert," fol 51 ; Le Neve, vol. ii, p. 386.

(18) Appointed Chancellor, June 14, 1444. Richard Andrew, the first Warden of All Souls, had held the office shortly before. Thorpe's " Registrum

Roffense," 1769, pp. 174-5. " Archasologia Cant.," vol. xv, p. 218. " Register Stafford," fol. 16. Spencer's "Life of Chichele," 1783.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part II. 186 Paper 8fc.

He is mentioned in the records of the diocese of Rochester,

April 15, 1448, in connection with the augmentation of the vicar's portion of the parish of Birling, near Maidstone, as well as in other documents. Scotney Castle, Kent, which Chichele obtained early in the reign of Henry V, and be- queathed to a niece, the widow of Sir Henry Peche, passed through his hands as trustee ; and no doubt much more might be ascertained concerning the doctor's life and work by follow- ing the executorship of the archbishop's will and by examining the records at Canterbury, London, and possibly those of the he was connected with. Dr. Biconyll signed his

will on November 3, 1448, and I believe he died the next day, because the appointment of William Cleve, canon of St. Paul's,

as his successor at Cliffe Rectory, is dated November 4.

Probate was granted November 19. Had it not been for the

copy of this will, fortunately preserved in its original abbre- viated Latin, at Lambeth Palace Library, we should indeed " " have known next to nothing of this forgotten Chancellor ;

and I consider it so excellent a specimen of the kind of testa- ment made by a devout Catholic dignitary of the fifteenth cen- tury, as well as so directly connected with Somersetshire, that

I need scarcely apologise for presently giving it in extenso, or for making a few preliminary comments on it. Two things

will probably strike the reader at once : that the testator was a man of culture and wealth, and a thorough-going churchman, not oblivious of the worldly advancement of his family and the preservation of his own memory. The bequests indeed

are curiously numerous ; large and small they are over a

hundred in number ; five cathedrals, three convents, eight churches, and over thirty friends or acquaintances receiving legacies, amongst which thirty-two cloaks, gowns, or vest- ments, and a great many chalices, cups, bowls, and ornaments of silver or silver-gilt, are specified, as well as manuscripts,

five horses, and nearly £700 in money, without counting annuities. TOMB OF Dr. BICONYLL, WELLS . A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 187

To the lover of ecclesiastical jewellery it is consequently vexing in the extreme to think what a loss this church-plate has been, especially when we remember that our own country is now almost entirely denuded of such antique goldsmith's work, though at that period, and till the , it prob- ably possessed more splendid specimens than any European state. 19 Occasionally the sum left for a special purpose well

exemplifies the different purchasing power of money in 1448 ; for instance, what kind of chalice worthy of the ceremonial of the high altar of Wimborne Collegiate Minster could one now expect to buy for £5 ? Whereas, on the other hand, £10 would to-day go a long way towards glazing a window in the

n.e. aisle of Christchurch. 20 One would also much wish to know what the " beads of gold, enamelled and engraved " for the shrine of St. Thomas were like, and to see the illumin- ations in the " beautiful bible " sent to St. David's. Time and absence evidently had not caused the doctor to lose his

affection for Somerset, because, notwithstanding that his offi- cial position must have compelled him to live at a distance, he

evinces it by so many of his legacies being to places in his own county, including amongst them Mells and Charlton

Mackrell, which he had formerly served as priest. This will,

besides narrating in detail the last wishes of a fifteenth century canon, has, by a strange chance which I will now relate, been of actual service to to-day. Speaking of his

desire to be buried in the Chapel of St. Martin, the testator

says : " Et volo quod habita licencia requisita edificetur

(19) . Hoping I might discover a trace of some of these bequests, I have taken considerable trouble, but I have only convinced myself that three of the MSS. remain in All Souls College Library, and that perhaps a few more may be at New College. In 1696 Bernard enumerates fifty MSS. as being the total which were at All Souls.

(20) . When All Souls College was building, 1438 to 1444, the wages paid

were : masons, 8d. a day ; carpenters, 6d. ; labourers, 4Jd. ; carvers and image makers, 4s. 8d. a week, with bed, board, and lodging. Allowing for the decrease in the value of money, these prices are about double what they are now. Skelton's " Pietas Oxoniensis." 188 Papers, Sfc. unum monumentum in pariete honestum et demolliatur hos- 21 tium." When I read this, it naturally struck me that I should most likely find the monument, or part of it, in the spot indicated, and my surprise was great, when, owing to my being unable to visit Wells myself, a friend reported to me, in 1888, that the chapel contained only one important tomb,

Chancellor Storthwait's, dated 1458 ; that the told him

" there were no other inscriptions in the church anything like " " " so old ; and lastly, that he had not found the name Biconyll in the official list of canons. This completely prevented my prosecuting my search any further, at the moment : in fact, I let the matter rest till August, 1893, when, having journeyed to

Somerset for the Archreological Society's meeting, I went afterwards in person to examine the chapel. If I had been astonished before, I certainly was more so then, for there was the ancient doorway blocked up, with a canopied altar-tomb of the fifteenth century, " built in the wall " and across the pass- age, exactly as the will directs. Upon the sloping lower edge of the plinth, in very uncommon semi-Lombardic letters, but of suspiciously modern appearance, cut in five small inserted

lengths of stone, I read :

xoHimecs ; s^or^hwhkd ;

• annaeirifHRiTs ; wa^ans

maaaanv ;

At first I thought that possibly Cancellarius might have been the only word legible some years back, and the restorers, knowing of no other chancellor connected with the cathedral at the period the architecture denoted, had filled in Storth- dis- wait's name and the remainder ; but after a little search I covered that the strange alphabet was one of the four given without date or place of origin in Pugin s " Glossary of

(21). " And I will that, the requisite license being obtained, an honourable monument be built in the wall, and the doorway be demolished." A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 189

Ecclesiastical Ornament," published in 1844, at the time of

Mr. Ferrey's restoration of the church ; and that it had been employed for at least three other tombs of very different dates : moreover, a hunt in Westminster Abbey revealed the fact that it had undoubtedly been copied from the monument of the famous Queen, Eleanor of Castile, a.d. 1290, consequently the

Wells inscription, if taken to indicate by its adoption the age of the tomb, pointed to the one hundred and fifty-eighth year before Storthwait died. Though I have met no one able to tell, me exactly how old this epitaph is, I am tolerably confi- dent it did not exist more than half-a-century ago, and that the original one was quite different, most likely in small black letter on a bronze band, under two inches wide, fixed between the mouldings of a slab, 22 now wanting, im- mediately beneath the effigy, which at sometime has been torn out for the value of the metal, whereby it ultimately came about, from there being nothing to show who was buried there, that Dr. Biconyll passed entirely from recollection. The puzzle of this monument will now, however, no longer exist, because the kindness of the and has permitted the following words to be graven in unmistakably Victorian letters, instead of those which recorded a wrong chancellor in the misleading capitals of Edward the First's queen :

WILLELMUS BICONYLL. LLD. CAN. WELLENS. CANC. CANT. OB. MCCCCXLVII1.

In case I am asked where Storthwait is buried, I cannot reply that I am certain, but I believe he was laid in the chapel of the Holy Cross, used occasionally as the Consistory Court, at the west end of the , on the north side. Leland, who

visited the cathedral between the years 1538 and 1542, wrote : " In superior! transepto versus meridiem jacent in elegantibus tumults 2 episcopos et guidam Bikenelle, Canonicus Wellen-

(22). As seen in the tomb of Cornish, a.d. 1513. 190 Papers, 8fc.

2Z sis, Bikenelli cujusdam nobilis consanguineus, in alta tumba : u " hie Canonicus dedit terras ecclesice S. Andrece : and in " another passage he says : Johannes Storthwaith Cancellar.

Wellensis, executor Bubbewith Episcopi Bathon. fecit Capel-

lam $• Cantariam in Boreal, parte primi transepti" which clearly shows that at all events " Bikenelle " and " Storth- waith " were not both buried in St. Martin's Chapel, but in different places, the former on the south side of the main or

upper , and the latter in the "north part of the first

25 transept," that is, in the chapel of the Holy Cross. To be sure Leland does not expressly say Storthwait was buried there, but it is a legitimate assumption that he was interred where he " made a chapel and a chantry." Besides the monu- ment, even the blocked doorway has had a share in promoting blunders, for it can never have led into Bishop Stillington's

Lady Chapel, 26 at a little distance outside, as Murray's Hand- book asserts, because it was walled up and obstructed by the tomb about twenty-six years before the chapel was built, and

(23) . That Dr. Biconyll was Canon of Wells rests, as far as I know, only on this statement, but as the inscription on the monument was intact in 1540,

about which date Leland saw it, the cathedral authorities would surely have drawn his attention to any such extraordinary mistake. Moreover, in his will the Dr. leaves a legacy to his tenants at Dultincot (Dulcote), one of the Wells prebends, and speaks of Dr. Carent, the Dean, as his " confrater." The words " Bikenelle cujusdam nobilis consanguineus," refer to Sir John Biconyll, who,

being a knight, was of course entitled to bear arms, and who is called "no-

bilis vir dominus " in one of the cathedral decrees. [See p. 214, note 120.]

(24) . See the Will, page 204, lines 14-16.

(25) . One mistake leads to another. Owing to its being supposed that Dr. Biconyll's tomb was Storthwait's, and as it was known from the Cathedral MSS. that Storthwait had endowed a chantry in the chapel of the Holy Cross,

it was taken for granted that St. Martin's had formerly been called by that name, and a printed placard not long ago recorded it for the information of visitors. Storthwait is the name of a manor in Yorkshire.

(26) . Stillington was bishop from llth January, 1465-6 to 8th February, 1491. His chapel, built in 1474, and pulled down by Sir John Gates in 1552, replaced one erected as early as the thirteenth century. " Somerset Archaeo-

logical Proceedings," Vol. 1. p. 87. Plan of Wells Cathedral, ib. vol. xix, " p. 2 ; vol. xxxiv, p. 104. Canon C. AT, Church's Early History of the Church of Wells." A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 191 has never been re-opened. That the door latterly gave direct admission only to some insignificant room, the mark of the low lean-to roof outside declares.

The following is the text of Dr. Biconyll's will, written in full from the copy in abbreviated Latin, preserved in Arch- bishop Stafford's register, fo. 167, at Lambeth Palace Library.

Testamentum Magistri Willelmi Biconyfl Officialis curie Can?

In nomine summe et individue Trinitatis patris et filij et spiritus sancti Amen. Humani generis prothoplausti rubigine maculata condicio certissime mortalitatis penam posteris pro p[fl.s]ito traduxit quam nec ipsemet Dominus noster Jhesus Christus pro humani generis reconsiliatione voluit declinare sua tamen ineffabili potencia morte deuicta resurgens post hanc vitam spem moue 27 resurrectionis nobis reliquit Hoc iuxta sapientis consilium sepius in mentem resoluens28 Ego Willelmus Byconyli indignissimus sacerdos volens bona fortune a Deo michi 29 collata et pusillum peculium meum in salutem anime mee in pios vsus conuerti et in eterna commutari sanus mente grates altissimo tercio die mensis Novembris Anno Domini Millesimo ccccmo xlvnj condo facio et ordino testamentum meum in hunc modum In primis lego et commendo animam meam ineffabili misericordie Domini nostri Jhesu Christi et corpus meum canonice sepulture in Capella sancti Martini in ecclesia Cathedrali Wellensi Item lego ad vsum Capellani mei vel Capellanorum meorum celebraturorum in eadem missale meum nouum quod incipit in secundo folio LutaS tuum Item lego ad vsum predictum crucem meam argenteam et deauratam Item calicem meum tercium deauratum duas Fiolas argenteas et vestimentum meum album simplex de damasco et vnum vestimentum blodium simplex de veluet super SatyS Et tercium vestimentum meum simplex de brode Alisandrl ibidem

(27) . Novce.

(28) . Eevolvens.

(29) . Mihi. 192 Papers, fyc. pro perpetuo permansurum Et volo quod habita licencia requisita edificetur imura monumentum in pariete honestum et demolliatur hostium 30 Item lego cuilibet canonico dicte ecclesie Cathedralis interessenti exequijs meis et misse xxd

Cuilibet vicario xij Cuilibet clerico yjd et cuilibet choriste mjd Item lego ecclesie Catbedrali Wellensi predicte vnum par peluium deauratarum vnum par thurribulorum et mis- sale meum paruum ad vsum summi altaris ibidem Item lego glorioso martiri beato Thome Cantuariensi par precularium de auro enameled & graued Item lego ecclesie Cathe- drali Sarisburiensi ymaginem meam sancte Marie deauratam Item lego ecclesie Cathedrali Lincolniensi ad reparacionem eiusdem totam firmam prebende mee in eadem anni prece- dents C.s inferius relictis ecclesie sancte Margarete Ley- cestrie dumtaxat exceptis Item lego ecclesie Cathedrali Exoniensi optimum calicem meum deauratum Item lego ecclesie Collegiate de WymborS Minstre C.s ad emendum vnum calicem ad vsum summi altaris ibidem Item lego ecclesie parochiali de WollyngtorJ sectam vestimentorum de albo damasco Item lego ecclesie parochiali de CharletorJ MackerellT vestimentum meum blodium et volo quod perficia- tur sumptibus meis Item lego ecclesie parochiali de Mellys paruam pixidem meam deauratam pro sacramento altaris

Item lego summo altari ecclesie parochiali de Tryng1 cupam meam argenteam et deauratam pro sacramento et sectam vestimentorum nigrorum Item lego ad reparacionem Capelle

de WigingtoS ibidem x.li Item lego ad reparacionem borealis

ale ecclesie parochialis de Clyve C.s Item lego ad repar- acionem celarij ante cruce in eadem ecclesia xx. marcas Item lego centum parochianis ibidem magis indigentibus centum grossos vltra centum solidos alias donatos ad reparacionem

celarij ante crucem eiusdem ecclesie quas 31 debet Benedictus Boucher! vel Jus tenementi sui ibidem quod michi promisit in

(30) . Ostium.

(31) . Quos.

A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 193

casu quo non solueret michi dictas viginti marcas Item lego ad distribendum inter tenentes meos magis indigentes de

Dultingoote xxxnj s nrj d Item lego ecclesie parochiali et prebende Sancte Margarete in Leycestria C.s ad edificationem campanilis ibidem Item lego ecclesie Conuentuali sancte Frideswyde Oxonie ad vitriandum vnam fenestram in ala boriali eiusdem ecclesie x.H Item lego ecclesie Conven- tuali Sancte Marie de AbyndoS ad nouum opus ibidem C.s Item lego Abbati et Conuentui de Osney quinque marcas ad orandum pro anima mea Item lego ecclesie Conuentuali sancti Gregorij Cantuariae C.s ad reparacionen eiusdem Et obsecro in visceribus Jhesu Christi quod in singulis ecclesijs supradictis deuote celebrentur exequie mee cum missa in crastino Item lego Domino meo singularissimo Domino meo Cantuariensi xx.li vt suscipiat intuitu caritatis pauperum Johannem vnicum fratrem meum in ?uicium 32 familiaritatem et favorem suum Item lego Magistro Nicholao Carant dilect- issimo confratri meo collobium 33 meum de Scarleto furratum cum gray Item lego preclarissimo meo Willelmo Caraunt vnum ciphum stantem vt respiciat paupertatem Johannis fratris mei et suscipiat eum in favorem in terris et possessioni- bus perquirendis Item lego Magistro Johanni Reynold '1 togam meam de vyolett engrayned cum capicio et collobio furratis cum menyver) et vnum ciphum coopertum chased cum rosis Item lego matri mee xx^li pre manibus soluendas et x. marcas soluendas annuatim ad quatuor anni terminos ad terminum vite sue Item lego eidem nj togas sibi convenientes

Item lego Johanni fratri meo cxl.li quas Magister Nicholaus Caraunt Decanus Wellensis michi debet ad perquirendum terras et possessiones sibi et heredibus de corpore suo legitime procreatis Et si obierit sine herede volo quod eedem terre et possessiones remaneant Elizabethe sorori mee et heredibus de corpore suo legitime procreatis Et quod dicta summa cxl.li

(32) . Servitium.

(33) . Colobium.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part 11. bb 194 Papers, remaneat in custodia executorum meorum vsque ad solucionem ex causa premissa faciendam Item lego dicto fratri meo C.li in promptam pecuniam Item lego eidem tres togas meas quas voluerit eligere Item lego eidem Johanni quatuor lectos pen- dentes cum curtinis et costeris Item lego eidem Johanni vj paria de Fustians et xij quysshons Item lego eidem Johanni omnia linthiamina mea inferius non legata et totam napariam meam Item lego eidem Johanni sex ciphos stantes xij bolles deauratos et xij bolles albos duo Salsaria argentea et xxmj or cocliaria argentea Item patenas ollas verna ad domicilium suum necessaria secundum discrecionem executorum meorum et ij equos optimos cum cellis et uxori sue nj togas Item lego dicte Elizabeth*! sorori mee xx^li Item lego eidem nj togas secundum discrecionen executorum meorum Item 34 lego Ibote matertre mee C.s et ij togas Item lego cognatis meis magis propinquis xxtili secundum discrecionem executorum meorum distribuendorum Item lego Domino Johanni Byrk- hedT duo volumina mea de vita Christi et fidei sue committo quod post decessum suum eadem volumina restituet Collegio animarum omnium fidelium defunctorum in Oxonia Item lego Magistro Bicardo Hoore vnam honestam togam cum capicio penulatam Item lego Domino Johanni Keling paruam bibliam meam [_et] vnam togam honeste furratam Item lego Domino Bicardo Stone vnam togam Item lego Vicario de WollygtoS vnam togam Item volo quod dictus Yicarius et quilibet Capellanus Cantariarum ibidem habeant quolibet anno pro termino xxti annorum si bona mea ad hoc sufficiant vj § vnj d ad orandum pro anima mea parentum et benefactorum meorum

Et quod ilia summa reponatur ibidem in custodia Johannis fratri s mei Vicarij et custodis bonorum ecclesie ibidem Et quod solucio predicta incipiat in die Trigentali meo et postea quo- libet anno in die anniversary mei Item lego ad distribuendum inter pauperes magis indigentes ibidem quamcito fieri poterit post obitum meum secundum discrecionem executorum meorum

(34). Materterse. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 195

xxxnj s mj d Item lego Magistro Johanni Botteley de Can- tuaria unam togam sibi convenientem Item lego Magistri

Roberto AylardT vnam togam Item lego Ricardo Row xl s Item lego Magistro Thome Caas portiforium meum vsuale ad terminum vite sue et post decessum suum volo quod deliberetur alicui honesto presbitero in ecclesia Cathedrali Wellensi vt ipse usatur et restituat vlterius forma supradicta Item lego eidem Magistro Thome vnam togam Item lego Willelmo More v marcas et unam togam vt attendat diligencius per

debitis meis leuandis Item lego Johanni FayrechildT xl s et

equum quern equitare solet Item lego Jacobo Fuller) xl § et equum quern equitare solet Item lego Ricardo Toppe ser- vienti meo x.H et unum lectum et unum equum cum cella et unam togam et J ohanni fratri suo xx § Item lego Thome Horsley C.§ ad exhibendum eum ad gram[m]aticam ministran- dum eidem per manus executorum meorum prout opus fuerit

vnum lectum {et) vnam togam sibi convenientes Item volo quod executores mei quamcito poterit constari de morte mea per aliqua signa vel coniecturas cum celeritate possibili provideant pro mille missis celebrandis pro anima mea et quod singuli per-

cipiant rj d Item volo quod executores mei provideant pro vna missa pro anima mea in dicta Capella sancti Martini cotidie celebranda Et onero ipsos sicut respondebunt coram Deo in districto examine vt ipsi perquirant terras et possessiones ad valorem C.s vel amplius pro vno vel pluribus Capellanis in dicta Capella cotidie imperpetuum 35 cursorie celebraturo vel celebraturis pro anima mea Johannis patris mei Johanne matri mee Domini Henrici Chichele et animabus omnium fidelium defunctorum Item lego Collegio animarum omnium fidelium defunctorum in Oxonia Nicholaum de Lira in quatuor volumi- nibus cum prohemio Item lego eidem Collegio decreta mea {et) librum meum decretalium paruum Dumtamen consensus

Johannis Ellmeregge senior [is~\ omnino interueniat Item lego eidem Collegio librum meum sextum cum duobus doctoribus et

(35). In perpetuum. 196 PaperS) 8fc. librum Clemen tis cum doctoribus in aliqualem recompensam beneficiorum per felicis memorie Dominum Henricum nuper Cantuariensem Archiepiscopum dicti Collegij fundatorem michi collatorum Item volo et onero quod executores mei infrascripti in visceribus Jhesu Christi pro exoneracione anime mee quod fiant restitutiones librorum et soluciones debitorum quemadmo- dum in quadam cedula seu codicillo presentibus annexa vel annexo plenius continetur nisi easdem restituciones vel solu- ciones per me fieri contingat Huius autem testamenti mei siue vltime voluntatis facio ordino et constituo executores meos Magistrum Rogerum Keys Magistrum Johannem Reynold^

Canonicum residenciarium dicte ecclesie Cathedrali Wellensi et Johannem fratrem meum antedictum Residuum vero bonorum meorum non legatorum do et lego executoribus meis antedictis vt ipsi disponant pro salute anime mee prout coram summo judice voluerint respondere Item lego Magistro Rogero Keys vnum ciphum et quinque marcas Item voluit 36 quod quedam summa CC.li debitarum per Willelmum Bonevyle militem remaneant in custodia predictorum executorum ad perquiren- dum terras et possessiones prefato Johanni fratri suo 37 et here- dibus de corpore suo legitime procreatis Et si obierit sine herede voluit 38 quod eadem terre et possessiones remaneant Elizabethe sorori sue et heredibus de corpore suo legitime pro- creatis Hiis testibus Domino Roberto Parfyte Domino Roberto

Smyth'l Domino Ricardo Stone Domino Johanne Kelyng5

s Ricardo Belyngeham Jacobo Fuller) Johanne Fayrechild l et aliis In primis volo quod soluantur Willelmo Auntres cissori 39

London! per estimacionen nrj li Item volo quod soluantur

Thome GayS si sit in humanis xhj s Sin autem volo quod distribuantur pro anima eius et benefactorum suorum Item volo quod distribuantur pro anima Willelmi MachoS et

(36) . Volo.

(37) . Meo.

(38) . Volo.

(39) . Scissori. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 197 animabus benefactorum suorum lxvj s virj d Item volo quod soluantur Willelmo Uuedale si ipse inueniat securitatem pro euiccione 40 clausure mee de Micheham et molendinorum ibidem et reddat munimenta pro eisdem 1 s Item volo quod soluantur

Gay cissori pro ij virgis de Crymsyn! et pro vna toga de viridT xxxiij § nrj d Item volo quod restituatur Abbati et Conventui Monasterii sancte Marie de AbyndoS Johannes in

Novella in ij voluminibus que michi ad vsum meum accomo- darunt Item volo quod restituantur Collegio animarum omnium fidelium defunctorum in Oxonia Henricum Bowhik in vno volumine Januensjjs] in vno volumine Franciscus de SabarellT super Clemente in papiro Petrus de Crescencijs vnus liber habens plura contenta qui incipit 2° fo. Item Bartholo- mew de proprietate rerum Item volo quod restituantur executoribus Domini Willelmi nuper Meneuensis Episcopi portiforium magnum notatum in duobus voluminibus Item vna biblia pulcra que incipit 2° folio in Misterio Item quod restituantur eisdem Arch[idiacon~\us in Rosarl qui incipit

2° folio et Johannes in Novella super Sextum qui incipit

2° folio

Probatum fuit presens testamentum coram Domino vna cum quodam pergameno per modum Codicilli eidem consuti apud

Lam ehi till xix° die mensis Novembris Anno Domini Millesimo ccccmoxlvnj° et per ipsum virtute prerogatiue sue ac ecclesie sue Cantuariensis approbatum Insinuatum ac legitime pronun- ciatum pro eodem Commissaque fuit administracio omnium bonorum dictum defunctum et eius testamentum concernencium vbicunque infra Cantuariensem provinciam existencium Magis- tro Rogero Keys et Johanni Biconylt fratri dicti defuncti executoribus in eodem testamento nominatis de fideli Inuen- tario omnium et singulorum bonorum huiusmodi conficiendo et Domino citra festum Pasche proximo futurum exhibendo Et Magistro Johanni Storthwayt emanauit commissio ad com- mittendum administracionem bonorum huiusmodi Magistro

(40). Evictione. 198 Papers, 8fc.

Johanni ReynoldT coexecutori in dicto testamento nominato penultimo die dicti mensis Novembris et ad certificandum citra festum Purificationis beate Marie Virginis proximo futurum Necnon et Magistro Willelmo FulfordT coniunctim et divisim.

Will of Mister William Biconyrl, Official of the court of Canterbury.

In the name of the most high and indivisible Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen. The condition of the first created human race being spotted with rust, most surely brought according to the law laid down the penalty of death upon posterity : which neither our Lord Jesus Christ himself

for the reconciliation of the human race wished to avoid ; yet by his wonderful power, death being conquered, He rising again left us the hope of a new resurrection after this life. Very often according to the advice of the wise man41 ponder- ing this in my mind, I, William ByconyH, a most unworthy priest, wishing that the gifts of fortune bestowed upon me by God, and my small private property, should be converted to pious uses for the saving of my soul, and be exchanged for eternal things, being sound in mind, thanks to the most High ! on the third day of the month of November, in the year of the Lord One Thousand ccccxlvnj, do frame, make, and order my will in this manner. First, 1 bequeath and commend my soul to the ineffable mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and my body to canonical sepulture in the Chapel of saint Martin in the Cathedral church of Wells. Also I bequeath for the use of my Chaplain or Chaplains celebrants in the same (chapel) my new missal, which begins on the second folio Lutarl tuum. 42 Also I be- queath to the use aforesaid my silver-gilt cross, also my third

(41) . Or according to the determination of a wise man.

(42) . P. Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam. R. Et salutare tuum da nobis. Roman Missal. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 199

gilt chalice, two silver Vials, and my plain white vestment of damask, and one plain crimson vestment43 of velvet on Satin, and my third plain vestment of Alexandrian embroidery, to

remain there for ever. And I will that, the requisite license being obtained, an honourable monument be built in the wall and the doorway be pulled down. Also I bequeath to each canon of the said cathedral Church taking part in my funeral and mass xxd, to each vicar xijd, to each clerk vjd, to each chorister nijd. Also I bequeath to the aforesaid Cathedral

church of Wells one pair of gilt basins, one pair of thuribles, and my small missal for the use of the high altar there.

Also I bequeath to the glorious martyr, the blessed Thomas of Canterbury,44 a pair of beads45 of gold, enamelled and engraved.

Also I bequeath to the Cathedral church of Salisbury my gilt image of saint Mary. Also I bequeath to the Cathedral church of Lincoln46 for the repair of the same all the farm of my prebend there, excepting only Cs of the preceding year left below to the church of saint Margarete, Leicester.

Also I bequeath to the Cathedral church of Exeter my best gilt chalice. Also I bequeath to the Collegiate church of Wimborne Minster Cs to buy a chalice for the use of the high altar there. 47 Also I bequeath to the parish church of Wollyngtone48 a suit of vestments of white damask. Also I bequeath to the parish church of Charltone Mackerelle49 my

(43) . Vestimentum blodium simplex. Anglo-Saxon Blod, blood. Blue

satin cost 9/- a yard in 1441 : damask 8s. in 1463 : damask embroidered with gold 86s. 8d., and cloth of gold, 80s., both in 1481.

(44) . That is, to his shrine. Becket was murdered A. d. 1170.

(45) . The old English name for a Rosary.

(46) . He was appointed a Canon of in May, 1445.

(47) . At the Dissolution there were six silver chalices here. Hutching* "History of Dorset."

(48) . Wellington, Somerset ; or perhaps Wellington. 2^ miles from Croydon, where a small church at that time existed. Bicknells lived at the former, but the testator owned property at Mitcham, near the latter. Manning's " Hist,

of Surrey,'' vol. 1, p. 267. " (49) . William Bykenel, Nov. 20, 1425, Incumbent." Weaver's "Somer- set Incumbents." 200 Papers , Sfc. crimson vestment, and I desire that it may be finished at my expense. Also I bequeath to the parish church of Mellys 50 my small gilt pyx 51 for the sacrament of the altar. Also I bequeath to the high altar of the parish church of Trynge 52 my silver and gilt cup for the sacrament, and a suit of black vestments. Also I bequeath for the repair of the Chapel of

Wigingtone in that place x pounds. Also I bequeath for the repair of the north aisle of the parish church of Clyve Cs 53

Also I bequeath for the repair of the canopy 54 before the cross in the same church xx marks. 55 Also I bequeath to a hundred of the poorer parishioners of that place a hundred groats 56 beyond the hundred shillings otherwise given for the repair of the curtain before the cross of the same church, which Benedict Bouchere owes, or the right to his tenement in that place, which he promised me in case he should not pay me the said twenty marks. Also I bequeath to be distributed among my poorer tenants of Dultingoote 57 xxxnjs mjd. Also I bequeath to the parish church and prebend of saint Marga-

(50) . He was Incumbent of Mells sometime after 1425, and resigned Nov. 21, 1445, on becoming Rector of Clyffe at Hoo, near Rochester. " (51) . A box, generally that in which the consecrated host is kept. 1503, June 26, John Aleyne, a Vicar Choral, appeared, and produced before the

Chapter certain evidences and muniments ' in quadam pixide,' concerning the chantries of John Biconell, miles, which they received." Reynolds' " History of Wells Cathedral."

(52) . He died Rector of Tring with Wigginton, Herts, which was at that time in the diocese of Lincoln. John Stokes succeeded him both in this living

and as Chancellor. Reg. Stafford, fo. 50.

(53) . At the death of Dr. Biconyll, William Cleve, Canon of St. Paul's,

was appointed to Clyffe, Nov. 4, 1448.

(54) . Cellarium. Celour, sellour, cellar or seller. Fr. del. "Celourcum

iij redels," canopy with three curtains. Wills at Bury St. Edmund's. " Cam-

den Society," p. 230.

(55) . £13 . 6 . 8.

(56) . £1 . 13 . 4.

(57) . Leland mentions Doultingcote [now Dulcote], a hamlet In the parish

of St. Cuthbert at Wells (Collinson, v. 3, 405), but here it refers to Dultiagcot or Dallingcote, otherwise Fingherst, Thingest. or , in Bucks, of which place the testator was Canon. Reynolds' "History of Wells Cathedral." " Liber Ruber," 243. Lipscomb's " History of Bucks," v. 3, 564. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 201

rete in Leicester Cs towards building a bell-tower58 there.

Also I bequeath to the Conventual church of saint Frideswyde 59 at Oxford to glaze a window in the north aisle of the same

church xli. Also I bequeath to the Conventual church of St. Mary of Abyndone 60 for the new work there Cs Also I bequeath to the Abbot and Convent of Osney 61 five marks to

pray for my soul. Also I bequeath to the Conventual church of saint Gregory 62 at Canterbury Cs for the repair of the same.

And I beseech in the bowels of Jesus Christ that in every church above mentioned my obsequies may be devoutly cele- brated with a mass on the morrow. Also I bequeath to my Lord my most singular Lord of Canterbury 63 xxli that in regard of charity he may take poor John, my only brother, into his ser- vice, friendship, and favour. Also I bequeath to Mister Nicholas Caraunt, 64 my dearest colleague, my cloak65 of scarlet furred with grey. Also I bequeath to my most illustrious William Caraunt66 a standing cup, 67 that he may look on the poverty of my brother John and take him into favour in ac- quiring lands and possessions. Also I bequeath to Mister John Reynolde 68 my gown of ingrain violet with hood and cape furred with menyver, 69 and a covered cup chased with roses.

Also I bequeath to my mother xx li to be paid at once, and x

(58) . The fine embattled tower, over 100 feet high, was begun in 1444. Nichols " History of Leicester."

(59) . Now called Christchurch Cathedral.

(60) . The celebrated and ancient Benedictine Abbey of Abingdon, Berks.

(61) . At Oxford.

(62) . A new church has been built after a design by Sir G. Scott, R.A.

. Stafford, (63) John created Archbishop 1443 ; formerly .

(64) . , LL.D., elected , 28 August, 1446. Died May 3, 1467.

(65) . Colobium, Ko\of36s, a short tunic or garment without sleeves.

(66) . Brother of Nicholas Carent, sometime High Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset, and M.P. for those counties. Died April 8, 1476.

(67) . The old name for a cup with a stem.

(68) . Residentiary Canon of Wells. Died 1451.

(69) . Miniver : the fine white fur of the Siberian squirrel.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part 11. cc 202 Papers, Sfc. marks to be paid at the four quarters of the year for the term of her life. Also I bequeath to John my Brother cxlli which Mister Nicholas Caraunt, Dean of Wells, owes me, to obtain lands and possessions for himself and for the heirs of his body lawfully begotten : And if he should die without an heir I will that the same lands and possessions remain to my sister

Elizabeth and the heirs of her body lawfully begotten : And that the said sum of cxl li remain in the keeping of my execu- tors until payment be made on the foregoing account. Also I bequeath to my said brother c li in ready money. Also I be- queath to the same three gowns of mine which he shall wish to select. Also I bequeath to the same John four beds hang- ing with curtains and costers. 70 Also I bequeath to the same

John six pairs of fustians 71 and twelve cushions. Also I be- queath to the same John all my sheets not below bequeathed, and all my napery. Also I bequeath to the same John six standing cups, xij gilt bowls, and xij white bowls, two silver salt cellars, and xxmj silver spoons. Also dishes, pots, and utensils72 necessary for his house according to the discretion of

my executors, and ij best horses with saddles ; and to his wife nj gowns. Also I bequeath to the said Elizabeth my sister xx li. Also I bequeath to the same nj gowns at the discretion of my executors. Also I bequeath to my aunt Ibote 73 Cs and ij gowns. Also I bequeath to my nearer relations xx li to be distributed at the discretion of my executors. 74 Also I be- queath to Mister John Byrkhede 75 my two volumes on the life of Christ, and I trust to his word that after his decease he

(70) . Side curtains.

(71) . Coverings of ribbed cloth used instead of blankets.

(72) . Vernum = vas coquinarium, any kind of cooking vessel, a.d. 1405. " Quatuor verna ferrua," a.d. 1476. " Glossarium," by Ducange.

(73) . Or Ebote ; a diminutive of Elizabeth.

(74) . A very fruitful source of quarrel I should imagine.

(75) . John Birkhede was one of the priests appointed by Archbishop Chichele to buy the site for All Souls College, to which he was admitted a Brother in 1445. He was, I believe, Steward to the Archbishop. Wood's " History of the Colleges of Oxford." A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 203 will restore the same volumes to the College of all faithful defunct souls in Oxford. Also I bequeath to Mister Richard

Hoore 76 a handsome gown with travelling over-cloak. Also I bequeath to Mister John Keling my little bible, \_and~\ a gown handsomely furred. Also I bequeath to Mister Richard Stone a gown. Also I bequeath to the Vicar of Wollyngtone 77 a gown.

Also my will is that the said Vicar and each Chaplain of the

Chantries there have yearly for the term of xx years, if my property is sufficient for this, vjs vnjd to pray for my soul {and the souls) of my parents and my benefactors ; and that this sum be put there in the care of John my brother, of the Vicar,

and of the custodian of the church property in that place ; and that the aforesaid payment begin on my Trental day, and afterwards every year On the day of my anniversary. Also I bequeath to be distributed among the more needy poor in that place as soon as possible after my death at the discretion of my executors xxxnjs mjd. Also I bequeath to Mister John

Botteley78 of Canterbury a gown suitable for him. Also I bequeath to Mister Robert Aylarde a gown. Also I bequeath to Richard Row xls. Also I bequeath to Mister Thomas

Caas my usual breviary for the term of his life, and after his decease I wish it to be handed over to some honourable priest in the Cathedral church of Wells, to use it himself and restore it further in the form above mentioned. 79 Also I be- queath to the same Mister Thomas a gown. Also I bequeath to William More v marks and a gown that he may more care- fully attend to the payment of my debts. Also I bequeath to

(76) . Richard Hore was Provost of Wells Cathedral. A copy of his will, dated 22 Nov. 1449, proved Jan. 21, 1450, is in Lambeth Palace Library. The " direction in it for his burial is ; Corpus sepeliend. in sepulcro pro me facto juxta gradum chori dictse ecclesiae Wellen sub lapide marmoreo ibidem per me posito."

(77) . Robert Ayshcombe, M.A., if the place is Wellington in Somerset.

(78) . John Boteley was perpetual Vicar of the Parish Church of Northgate, Canterbury, on May 12th, 1444. Reg. Stafford, 123.

(79) . That is, to All Souls' College. —

204 Papers, 8fc.

80 John Fayrechilde xls. and the horse he is wont to ride. Also

I bequeath to James Fullere xls. and the horse he is wont to ride. Also I bequeath to Richard Toppe, my serving-man,

xli and a bed, and a horse with saddle, and a gown ; and to

John his brother xxs. Also I bequeath to Thomas Horsley Cs to maintain him at a Grammar (School), 81 the same (Cs) to be administered by the hands of my executors as there shall be need, (and) one bed and one gown suitable to him. Also I will that my executors, as soon as the fact of my death can be established by certain signs or conjectures, with all possible speed provide for a thousand masses to be celebrated for my soul, and that they each receive yd. Also I will that my ex- ecutors provide for a mass for my soul to be celebrated in the

said Chapel of saint Martin every day : and I charge them as they will answer before God in the strict trial that they obtain lands and possessions to the value of Cs. or more, for one or more Chaplains to be quick celebrant82 or celebrants for my soul daily in the said Chapel for ever, (also for the soul) of John my father, of Joane my mother, of the Lord Henry

Chichele, 83 and for the souls of all the faithful defunct.

Also I bequeath to the College of all faithful defunct souls in Oxford Nicholas de Lyra 84 in four volumes, with preface.

(80) . Described as "literatus" in decree of Archbishop Stafford, 1448. Thorpe's "Registrum Roffense."

(81) . Probably at the Grammar School of Wells then existing. "Ruber " Albus," v. ii, 271, "Wells Chapter Records

(82) . Priests saying low masses quickly without music. In Sir J. BiconylPs will termed "a currant mass."

(83) . Chichele died April 12th, 1443. He bequeathed to All Souls' College £133 6s. 8d. and 1,000 marks, and these sums were paid by his executors, who

were : Thomas Chichele, grandson of William Chichele, the Archbishop's

brother ; Richard Andrews, LL.D., the first Warden of All Souls' and Fellow

of New College, afterwards Dean of York, who died 1477 ; John Birkhede,

already mentioned ; Robert Danvers, a feoffee of the Archbishop ; John Wraby, who had been entrusted with several sums for the payment of the workmen during the building of All Souls, and who is mentioned in the list of its benefactors; and lastly Dr. Biconyll. Spencer's " Life of Chichele," 1783.

(84) . A converted Jew, and Minorite monk, born about 1270 at Lyre in Normandy, died at Paris, 23rd Oct., 1340. Exegete and theologian. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 205

Also I bequeath to the same College my decrees, \_and~\ my little book of decretals, as long as the consent of John Ellmeregge

senior altogether lasts. Also I bequeath to the same College my sixth book with two doctors, and the book of Clemens with doctors, 85 as some recompense for the benefits conferred on me by Lord Henry of happy memory, late Archbishop of

Canterbury, the founder of the said College. Also I will and charge that my executors [who are] written below, in the bowels of Jesus Christ for the deliverance of my soul, make restitution of books and payment of debts, as in a certain

schedule or codicil86 annexed to these presents is more fully

contained, unless it happen that the same restitutions or pay- ments have been made by me. Moreover, of this my testament or last will I make, ordain, and appoint my executors Mister Roger Keys,87 Mister John Reynolde, residentiary Canon of the said Cathedral church of Wells, and John my brother aforesaid. But the residue of my property not bequeathed I give and bequeath to my executors aforesaid that they may

lay it out for the safety of my soul, as they will answer before the most high Judge. Also I bequeath to Mister Roger Keys

a cup and five marks. Also I will that a certain sum of ccli owed by William Bonevyle, Knight, 88 remain in the keeping of the aforesaid executors to acquire lands and possessions for the aforesaid John, my brother, and the heirs of his body lawfully

begotten : And if he should die without an heir I will that the

same lands and possessions remain to Elizabeth, his sister, and the heirs of her body lawfully begotten. These being Wit-

(85) . Most likely the other Apostolic Fathers, whose works were often bound with those of Clemens.

(86) . This Codicil is lost.

. He supervised the building of All in (87) Souls the 5th and 6th years ; became a Fellow in 1438, and Warden in succession to Andrews, 1442. He obtained the Prebend of Netherbury, near Eeaminster,

Dorset, in 1456 ; and, at the testator's death, succeeded to his Canonry at St. Paul's.

(88) . He was created Lord Bonevyle, 23rd September, 1449. A Lancastrian leader, and at one time Constable of Taunton Castle. Beheaded, 19th Feb- ruary, 1460-1. 206 Papers, 8fc.

nesses : Mister Robert Parfyte, Mister Robert Smythe, Mister Richard Stone, Mister John Kelynge, Richard Belyngeham, James Fullere, John Fayrechilde, and others. Especially I will that mjli by estimation be paid to William Auntres, tailor, of

London. Also I will that that xhjs be paid to Thomas Grayn,

if he be alive ; otherwise I will that it be distributed for his soul and (the souls of ) his benefactors. Also I will that ixvjs vnjd be be distributed for the soul of William Machon

and the souls of his benefactors. Also I will that Is be paid

89 to William Uvedale if he himself find security for the recovery of my inclosure of Micheham90 and Mills there, and give up the documents for the same. Also I will that xxxiijs mjd be paid to — Gray, tailor, for ij yards of crimson and for a gown of green. Also I will that there be restored to the Abbot and Convent of the Monastery of saint Mary of

91 Abyndone, Johannes in Novella, in ij volumes, which they lent me for my use. Also I will that there be restored to the

College of all faithful defunct souls at Oxford, Henricus

92 93 Bowhik, in one volume ; Januens, in one volume ; Francis-

(89) . William Uvedale, armiger, died 1449, and was buried in St. Mary Overy Conventual church, Southwark. In the French Rolls, Henry VI, Feb. 12th, 1457-8, I find a Protection was granted to the "Marie" of Spain, trading to England, to obtain the ransom of Henry Uvedale, a prisoner in France. The Uvedales were an ancient family in Dorset, ffutchins' " Dorset," vol. iii, p. 144.

(90) . Mitcham, Surrey, was held of the Priory of St. Mary Overy. Man- ning's " Surrey," vol. i, p. 248.

(91) . Giovanni Andrea, Benedictine Monk, an eminent Italian Canonist, born at Bologna about the end of the 13th century, and acquired great repu- tation as Professor in that city. Died 1348. He called the Decretals "Novella" in imitation of Justinian. The full title of the book referred to

would be : '-Johannis Andreas, in Novella, super Sexto [libro] Decretalium D. Bonifacii Papse VIII." — First published at Venice, 1489. " Panzer's Annales."

(92) . Henry Bohic, Benedictine monk ; Canonist ; author of a Commentary

on the Decretals of Gregory IX. Born at St. Mathieu, Finisterre, 1310 ; died about 1390. The work on which his fame rests is entitled En quinque Decre- talium libros [Gregorii Papse IX] Commentaria. " First printed 1498. Nouvelle Biog. G6n6rale.

(93) . Jacobus Januensis or de Janua (Genoa), also known as Giacomo de

Varaggio and Jacob de Voragine. Born about 1230 at Varaggio ; died 14th July, 1298, at Genoa. Became a Dominican in 1254, and was Archbishop of Genoa during the last six years of his life. He wrote the first Dictionary of

Latin after it became a dead language : printed 1460. He was preacher, historian, and hagiographer. His famous " Legenda Sanctorum," or "Legenda Aurea," was one of the first works printed bv Caxton, under the name of "The Golden Legend," 1483, and it was afterwards printed by Wynkin de Worde. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 207

94 cus de Saberella upon Clemens on paper ; Petrus de Cres- cencijs95 one book having many contents which begin on the 2nd folio. Also Bartholomeus 96 on the property of things.

Also I will that there be restored to the executors of the Lord William, late Bishop of St. David's, 97 a large breviary with

notes in two volumes ; also a beautiful Bible which begins on the 2nd folio " in Misterio." Also that there be restored to the same Kx<^\idiacoii\v& in Rosarl, 98 which begins on the 2nd

folio ; and Johannes in Novella upon Sextus, which begins on the 2nd folio. The present testament was proved before the Lord, 99 together with a certain parchment in the form of a Codicil sewn to the same, at Lamehithe, 100 the xix*11 day of the month of November, Anno Domini One Thousand cccc xlvnj, and by him in virtue of his prerogative and of his church of Canterbury approved,

(94) . Cardinal Francesco Zabarella, Archbishop of Florence, born at Padua,

1339 ; died at Constance, 26th Sep., 1417. Celebrated as Professor of Canon Law, at Florence and Padua. Amongst other works, he wrote "Lectura Super Clementinis, " and " Commentaria in Decretales et Clementinas." The volumes of Nicholas de Lyra, Henry de Bohic, and Cardinal Zabarella, the last much injured by damp, still remain in All Souls' Library.

(95) . Pietro dei Crescenzi, born at Bologna, 1230 ; died 1320. A celebrated agronome and the restorer of scientific agriculture in Europe. His great

work is called "Opus Ruralium Commodorum." First printed, 1471.

(96) . Bartholomew Glanvile, or Anglicus, an English Minorite Monk, c. 1230-1250, who wrote "De proprietatibus rerum," the encyclopedia of the . First printed, Cologne, 1470.

(97) . William Lyndwood, diplomatist, canonist, and distinguished author of the " Provinciale." Archbishop Chichele appointed him 1st August, 1414, to be his official of the court of Canterbury, thus giving him the same prefer-

ment afterwards bestowed on Dr. Biconyll : and in 1419 he was collated to the prebend of Taunton. His body was discovered January, 1852, in the crypt of St. Stephen's, Westminster. "Diet, of Nat. Biog." " Archseologia," xxxiv, 418.

(98) . Guido di Baisio, one of the most renowned Canonists of the 13th

century, and a noble of Reggio, Lombardy ; about 1280 was Professor of Civil Law, in Bologna, where he became . In 1300 he finished his

intrepretation of the Decretals, giving it title the quaint "Rosarium Decretum" ; a work first published in Rome, 1477. MazzuchetWs " Gli Scrittori d' Italia."

(99) . Of Canterbury.

(100) . Lambeth. 208 Papers^ Sfc.

Registered, and legitimately pronounced for the same ; and the

administration of all the property concerning the said deceased and his testament wherever existing in the Province of Canter- bury, was Committed to Mister Roger Keys and John Biconylf, brother of the said deceased, named executors in the same testa- ment, to make a faithful Inventory of all and every property of this kind, and to be shown to the Lord before the feast of Easter next ensuing. And to Mister John Storthwayt101 was issued a commission to commit the administration of such property to Mister John Reynolde, co-executor named in the said testament, on the last day but one of the said month of November, and to certify within the feast of the Purification

of the blessed Virgin Mary next ensuing ; Also to Mister William Fulforde,' 102 conjointly and separately.

During the next twenty years a John "Byconyll" is

frequently mentioned, and though it is not easy to prove abso- lutely the exact relationship he bore to the chancellor, yet as

the latter in his will left his brother John two sums of money for the express purpose of acquiring land, and we find John Byconyll buying between five and six hundred acres, with

other property, near Ashprington, in Devon, in 1451 ; the three hundred marks spent thereon may well have been a small por- tion of one of these legacies. The name occurs in 1452-3, and again in 1453-4 in connexion with that of Agnes, daughter of John Lyte, 103 and those of two of the Horsey family, which was

(101) . Storthwayt was of Wells Cathedral, 1426 ; Executor of of Bishop Bubwith, 1424; Chancellor of Wells, 1439. He founded a Chantry at the altar of the Holy Cross, Nov. 14th, 1451, and he directed (Sep. 16th, J450) that £10 should be paid annually by Wraxall Church for its maintenance. Died 1454. Storthwayt is the name of a manor in Yorkshire.

(102) . He became Canon of Wells with the Cory Prebend, Sept. 15th, 1443. DucareVs "Index to Reg. Stafford," 639.

(103) . Som. Arch. Soc. Proceedings, vol. xxxviii, pt. II, p. 24. Many of the names mentioned by Mr. Lyte in this account of the Lytes of Lytescary, are familiar to me in the history of the Biconylls. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 209 intimately associated with the Byconylls till the 16th century. On July 7th, 1455, "Johannes Byknell" and Stephen Hatfeld were returned to parliament for Shaftesbury, and in 1456-7,

"John Byconyll" served the office of Escheator for Devon and

Cornwall, the first inquisition he held being on Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Seyntmaur, Kt., whose grandson afterwards married Elizabeth Chokke (Dame Biconyll). I pass on now to speak more at length of a member of the family of wholly different type to the chancellor, a man of war instead of a man of peace, resembling him only in one point, in his intense devotion to the Church, but otherwise rather after the fashion of those Condottieri leaders who fought generally for the side where their interest lay. Sir John Biconyll, Kt., played a considerable part in the from 1470 to 1502, and, since he belonged to the

Chapter of Wells, I may appropriately call him also a "for- gotten canon." 104 With his tomb, oddly enough, certain archaeo- logical questions are likewise connected, and just as the monu- ment at Wells has increased our knowledge of the cathedral, so this other has contributed towards a correct understanding of the Abbey of Glastonbury. It seems to me indeed not too much to say, that in time, when the meagre known history of

Henry VII's reign is amplified by complete search in the vast stores at the Record Office, we shall learn much more than I am able to tell at present about this prominent character. When parliament was summoned to meet on Oct. 6th, 1472, at Westminster, we find John Biconyll representing the united counties of Somerset and Dorset (which were not separated till 1566), and his seat remained undisturbed as long as that parliament lasted. A dissolution took place March 14th, 1474-5, but when the new house assembled three years later, on Jan. 16th, 1477-8, he was not elected. Whether he ever entered parliament again cannot be ascertained, because the

(104). I believe he was a nephew of Dr. Biconyll. The name of William Carent occurs in the wills of both.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part II. dd —

210 Papers, 8fc. returns are often missing or incomplete, in fact the names of all the members for these counties in the next eleven parliaments are lost. He was also sheriff for Dorset and Somerset in 1472, and again in 1473. The references to Sir John, however, occur in so many places that it would be tedious to enumerate them, and I shall therefore only mention a few. In 1474, he owned the three manors of North Perot, South Perot, and the

105 adjoining Pepilpen, as well as the advowsons of the two first, and in 1472, he was patron, with others, of , and in 1476, of Nunney106 and Middle Chinnock in Somerset, and of

Batcombe in Dorset : he also took active interest in the religious guild founded in 1482, at , three miles from Wells, "in honour of God, the Blessed Virgin, and St. Anne"; various documents between that year and 1489 referring to him. 107 At this time he made up his mind to stake his fortune on the cause of Henry of Richmond, and this ended in his fighting so valiantly at the battle of Bosworth that the trium- phant king knighted him on the field, August 22nd, 1485, together with his two friends William Courtney and the Baron

108 of Carew : Somerset consequently took no inglorious share in that hardly-contested victory. Perhaps gratitude now gave a fresh stimulus to the other side of Sir John's character, for directly he returned home, October 4th, he made a curious arrangement with the warden of the Franciscan Minorites at

Dorchester, the chief points of which were as follows :

66 1. The devout and venerable man John Byconill, Kt., to be admitted as one of the founders of the Convent on

account of his having first established mills on the water running thereby.

(105) . The registers of South Perot begin at the unusually early date 1534.

(106) . In 1790, a descendant of the Bicknells' held this same living. Weaver's "Somerset Incumbents."

(107) . MSS. in the Bodleian Library. The guild was" dissolved at the Reformation.

(108;. Metcalfs " Book of Knights." In Stow's Chronicle he is called ''Sir John Bikenyle," and in the Cotton MSS. " Brikenell." A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 211

2. The Conventual High Mass to be principally granted and appropriated to him.

3. The monks to bind themselves for ever to celebrate his decease on the day after the feast of their Holy Father

St. Francis.

4. 'The same John, and such as shall by him be recom- mended,' to be prayed for by name every week in the .

5. That these ordinances and decrees of the said John, con-

cerning the mills, be punctually observed, namely : First. That there be yearly laid up in a chest, secured under three locks, 40s. of the profits of the mills for

repairing them : the chest to be in the custody of the guardian or in the porch, one key thereof to be safely

kept by the guardian or his assign ; another by the

discreetest of the brothers ; and the third by a special friend chosen by the convent.

Second. That the Brother who is Hebdomadarius, appointed for the week, duly frequenting the by day and night, and praying for the said John,

shall at the end of the week receive 6d. : but if he be

negligent in his office, he shall be deprived of the said money either in part or in the whole. Third. That every priest praying from the beginning to the end of the obsequies and mass for the said John shall receive 4d., and laymen 2d.

Fourth. That all profits, after paying the aforesaid ordinations, shall be laid out towards bringing boys into the order, and their education in good manners

and learning ; and that the brothers so brought in and educated to the perpetual memory of the said John be called Biconyll's Friars, and that none of them be called by their surnames. Item. The recommendation of the said John shall be made in this form: 'Pray especially for the happy "

212 Papers, Sec

state of the devout and venerable man John

Byconill, Kt., and on account of the first erecting of the mills upon our water, the chief founder of this

place, and for his soul, when he shall depart this life.'

The above contract "was kept with great respect," but it gave dire offence to those Franciscans who stood up for the strict observance of the primitive rule of St. Francis for- bidding the order to hold property. 109 Sir Thomas Arundell, K.B., 110 Oct. 3rd, 1485, appointed Sir John one of his executors, and we find "John Chokke, of Staunton Drew, in the countie of Somerset, Squier," naming his brother "Syr John Byconnel (or Biconell), Knyght," to 111 the same office, April 18th, 1488. Between those two dates he had contracted a second marriage with the widow of John Seyntmaur, who died Oct. 5th, 1485, and whose , with

effigies of himself and wife, is now before the altar of Becking- ton Church. 112 John Seyntmaur being descended from Reg- inald de Paveley, Lord of Westbury, in Wilts, temp. Henry I, a.d. 1100-1135, this lady married into two branches of the same family. 113 No issue, however, proceeded from this second union. After the accession of Henry VII, Sir John appears to have remained in Somerset and Dorset, a trusty servant of the

" (109) . Dugdale'* Monasticon," vol. viii, p. 1510. Parkinson's "Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, " p. 308. " (110) . Ancestor of Lord Arundell, of Wardour. Nicholas' Testamenta Vetusta,"' vol. I, p. 379.

(111) . Will in Somerset House.

(112) . In his will, at Somerset House dated Oct. 5th, 1485, proved Nov. 19th, he directs that his body may be buried "in the chancel of Bekynton," and he leaves a legacy to his "son yet unmarried." Dame Biconyll's will and engraving of the brass, are given in the Som. Arch. Soc. Proceedings, vol.

xxxix, pt. I, p. 19. Lord Stawel was descended from her elder daughter ; Lord

Poltimore and Lord Egmont are from the younger ; and Lord Bath from her sister Dame Wroughton.

(113) . Her father, Sir Richard Chokke, had married Jane, daughter of William Pavie, of Bristol. If, as is quite possible, the name Pavie may be a variety of Paveley, Dame Biconyll would then not only be connected with the Pavel eys, through both her husbands, but be of Paveley blood herself. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 213 crown till his death, and the occasional notices of him refer chiefly to his connexion with various manors, although it is clear that he still took part in politics, because he was com- missioned Dec. 23rd, 1488, with others, to examine how many archers the nobles and knights of Somerset were bound to find

for the king's army for the expedition to Brittany ; and in Sep. 1497, when Henry marched to Taunton during the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck, "Sir John Bickenell" accom- panied his majesty "with a large number of noblemen, knights, esquiers, and valiaunt personages, prepared and readie with all thinges necessary for the fielde and battaille." 114 Sir John lived at South Perot Court or Manor House, just inside the border of Dorset, which stood in the ground still called in remembrance of it Court Orchard, adjoining the west side of the churchyard. 115 In the 14th century the Maubanks owned the manor, and in 1412-3 Christian, widow of John , of Childhay, and wife of Richard Clopton, was a tenant here of Philip Maubank. Later it belonged to the

Carent family, then to the Horsey s of Clifton Maubank ; in 1449 to John Crokehorn, who held lands of Henry Horsey "as of his manor of South Perrot," and afterwards to the Daubeneys, a small portion, however, being occupied by the Draper family. 116 The next owner was Sir John Biconyll, and through the oper- ation of the bequests in his will at the close of the 16th century the manor was leased to, or it became the property of, William grandson of Robert Gibbes, whose father Robert Gibbes, of Hunningham, Warwick, had settled at Netherbury, in Dorset.

Charles I, in his march from the west, on Monday, Sep. 30th, 1644, "lay the night at Mr. Gibbs his howse, the Manor of South Barrett (Perot) Com. Dorset"; but not long afterwards the building was razed and the materials were sold. A porter's

(114) . Grafton's "Chronicle," vol. II, p. 214.

(115) . His wife, in her will, speaks of her daughter's "owne chambre next the churchyerde " of South Perot. " Som. Arch. Soc. Proceedings," vol. xxxix,

pt. I, p. 38; and errors p. 36, lines 16, 17, and note *.

(116) . See note 150, p. 218. 214 Papers, fyc.

lodge was standing in 1680 on the north side of the ruined

mansion, with a great court before the north door ; and a

part of the lodge existed till about 1781, when it was taken

down by its owner, Edward Bellamy, of Cheddington. 117 Other less important houses owned by Sir John in this neighbourhood were Pepilpen 118 (now a farm) and North Perot Manor, both in North Perot parish, Somerset, and comprised in the beautiful estate of W. H. Hoskyns, Esq., whose grandfather purchased them from the family of William Pitt, the statesman. The outline of the moat and substruc- tures of buildings of North Perot manor are still recognisable in

a field near the road. The farm called Grey Friars and the field Monkwood, close by, most likely indicate some connexion with the Franciscans of Dorchester, whom we know Sir John and his wife held in such great regard. The manor was held by Sir John at one time, for a rent of 2d., of Margaret, countess of Richmond, daughter of the duke of Somerset, and mother of Henry VII. 119

One of the last acts of his life was to establish and endow,

in the spring of 1501, two chantries ; one in the of bishop Stillington, adjoining the of Wells Cathe-

120 dral, and the other in the cathedral itself. His death

occurred on the 23rd of August, 1502, and his will, written

121 with his own hand, is dated August 15th, 1500, which super-

(117) . "Diary of Richard Symonds." Camden Soc. No. 75. Pulman's " Book of the Axe," p. 163. Hutchins's " Dorset."

' (118) . In 1547-8 owned by William Horsey. "Piplepan" and a wood " " there," are mentioned in 1225-6 ; again as Pypelepenne in 1256-7, and

" Pipuhoenne," 1404-5, 1446-7. ' Somerset Fines," Somerset Record Society. "Cal. Inq. P.M.

(119) . Inq. P. M. on Dame Elizabeth Biconyll, at Crewkerne, 24th Jan. , 1505.

(120) . 1501, Apl. 1. The Chapter of Wells decreed: "Quod ordinacio duarum cantariarum in ecclesia Cathedrale Wellen et in capella beatissimse Virginis juxta claustrum ejusdem, per nobilem virum dominum Johannem Bicconell fundatas, prout in quadam scedula papiri sit confecta, eorum sigillo communi sigilletur et roburetur." " Liber Ruber, Wells Cathedral." " Valor

Eccles ," vol. I, p. 125.

(121) . So stated in the Inq. P.M. on his wife, held at Crewkerne, 26th Jan. 1506. ;

A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 215

seded one of October, 1485, of which Giles (afterwards Lord) Daubeney was a trustee. 122 At the end of this second will we are told it was proved by his step-son Sir William Seyntmaur,

K.B., 29th Nov. 1501 ; but this must be a mistake for 1502, because Sir John was one of the non-residentiary canons assembled in Wells Cathedral, June 8th in that year, before whom Dr. William Cousyn took the oath on his appointment as dean 123 and the post mortem inquisition held at Blandford, 20th June, 1504, says he died on the day I have affirmed. The text of Sir John Biconyll's will, which I have tran- scribed exactly from the copy in Somerset House of the origi-

nal English, is as follows :

3itt tf)C H&tttC of the moost glorious Trinite Amen : the 124 xnj daie of Auguste the yerl of oure lorde god m1 v c I John Byconyll kuyght in good helth of bodie k mynde dredynge nevtheless the casualte of this vnsul worlde make my testament & laste will in forme foloyynge vz. ffurste I bequeth my sowle vnto Almightie god & my bodie to holy sepulture Where As by his r3cy I shall herafter declarl 125 It I Will that there be saide for my sowle the sowlis of my fadre and modre my godfather my godmother : my Wife 126 Johan my brother William127 my suster Elijabeth & all my

(122) . The lnq. P.M. on Sir John, held at Exeter, 22nd Nov. 1505, re- ferring to a deed of 12th Oct., 1485, conveying lands in trust to Giles Daubeney and others, says that it was for the performance of his last will.

(123) . Liber Ruber.

(124) . a.d. 1500.

(125) . His burial-place is incidentally mentioned five times in connection with . See pp. 219, 220. " (126) . On p. 219 referred to as Johafi late my wife." This lady Joan, or Jane, according to Dame Biconyll's will, may have been a daughter of Joan Brympton (Sydenham) who died 1473. The Sydenhams of Brympton d'Evercy were connected with the Daubeneys, Horseys, Audleys, Luttrells, and other persons mentioned in this will.

(127) . Perhaps the William Bicknell who built the splendid chantry and porch of Northleach Church, Gloucestershire, who died 1500. [Rudder's "Gloucester."] Another William was priest at Bathampton, 1487, and re- signed 1493. [Weaver's " Somerset Incumbents."] 216 Papers, 8fc. brothers & susters the sowle of Jamys Ormond 128 somtyme Erie of Wilts, henry horsie 129 henry Bear130 Richard Pigott Wylliam Carent131 & All xperi sowlis ml m1132 massis assone after my deceaste as goodly maie be Done At london & other good townes. Every pste takyng for A masse ijd It. I be- queth to the pisshe church of Northory 133 xli or A sute of vestaments f?ce of x li to py for the sowle of Thomas Baker somtyme vicar ther) & All xpen) sowlis It. I Will that the church chauncell & porche of Northperot be pformed & iij 134 bells convenyent ordeyned therto. It I bequethe to every housholder of Southperot & Northperot xx d It I bequethe to Elizabeth my Wife in money C li & in plate the worth of

An C li to vse it for her life. It. I bequethe to my curate pson of southperot135 for tithes not duly done x rSke. It. I

136 bequethe to Robert Roper of myddelchynnok xl s. It I bequethe to my said Wife all my Napery shets apparell of chambres stuff of kichyS & All o r 137 vtensils & All my quyk catell. Ite I bequeth to the Church of woolauyngton x mke to be enploied vpon sorn Stok As melch kieS or o r like thyngs by thencrease whereof theS maie be yeSly ah obite kept therl for me & those Aboue spined And of this my testamente I make & ordeyri my executors Elizabeth my Wife & Sir John

(128) . James Butler, fifth Earl of Ormond in Ireland, was descended from

Edward I. Created Earl of Wilts, 8th July 1449. Beheaded 1461. Burke's " " Extinct Peerages" ; Nicholas? Test. Vetusta," 107.

(129) . Horsey is about a mile north of . The Horsey family sometimes lived at Clifton Maubank, close to Junction Station.

(130) . Probably brother of Ric. Bear, who was the last abbot but one of Glastonbury.

(131) . See Note 66, p. 201.

(132) . 2000.

(133) . Northory, or Northcory, now North Curry, held by the Canons of Wells of the king. " Testa de Nevill."

(134) . Five new bells were put up about a century ago.

(135) . John Saunders.

(136) . Robert Roper was lined 20 marks, at Taunton, for aiding the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck.

(137) . Other. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 217

Speke knyght & William Sayntmawre 138 her sonne & John More 139 of Columpton Everich140 of theym to have convenyontly after the labour that they take

3tt0 bt It knOfoen that All my lands stande in feoffa- ment141 to pforme this my laste Will made the xv daie 142 of Auguste the yere A bouesaid of or lord m1 v° and of king 143 henry the vij xvj yerl : And levery of seison made Accord- yng to my dedis therof. fFurste I will that my feoffs suffer me to take all thissues & pfitts of all the landes A foresaid whiles I live. And after my deceaste that Elizabeth my

Wife have all the saide landes for terme of her life if she live sole w* owte empechement of Waste. Except such landis as he8 after foloeth I do otherwise dispose, she to fynde yerely v scolars at Oxforde to lerne the law dyuyne for techynge xpeS 144 people eulych of theym to haue yerely mj i3ke or v if that be to litle. It I will that my manors of Southperot & Northperot & Pepilpeis 145 with the Advowsens thereof & other thapprtenuncs. And all my lands tents rents reulsions & servyces in the same be ordeyned by my said feoffs therof to remayS After the deceaste of my saide Wife to William

Sayntmaure her sonne for terme of his life : for that I truste he wilbe vertuous. And to thentent y tl46 he do help & socour

" (138) . Somerset Archaeological Society Proceedings," vol. xxxix, part I, p. 42.

(139) . John More, or Moor, of Moorehays, Cullompton, died 4th January, 1509. There were three ancient families of More in "Devonshire, not connected with

'• each other. Visitation of Devon," 1564 ; Polwhele's "Hist, of Devon"; An excellent article by Mr. A. J. Monday in the " Somerset County Gazette," September 29th, 1883.

(140) . Every each.

(141) . Held in trust by the deed of 12th October, 1485, and one of 12th August, 1500, executed one day before this will was begun.

(142) . At the beginning said to be " the xnj daie."

(143) . Delivery of possession.

(144) . Christian.

(145) . See note 1 18, p. 214.

(146) . That.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part II. 218 Papers, 8fc. po3 people in right at their neds asmoche as shalbe in his

pouerj and nothyng to take therefor : fyndying yerlly ij

scolers vnto oxford as he will Aunswere to god for it. And after his deceaste I Will that the saide manls lands & tents rl47 with y appurtenauncs Aforesaide be ordeyned by saide feoffs to remayS to Giles Dawbney148 knyght & henry his so9 for terme of their lives, the remaynder thereof to the saide William Sayntmawre & 149 theires males of his bodie comyng. & for lak of such issue the remaindfl thereof to the said Giles lord Dawbney and to theires males of his bodie comynge. And for defaute of such issue the remayndre of the Manor of Southperot wt the apprtenancs to John horsy of Clifton & to his heires Except A tehte with lands therto pteynyng in which John Draper150 now dwellith. which I will 3mayn to the saide

William Sayntmawr & his heires : And I will yt the manor of Northperot Af? thastats 151 Aforesaide remyn to Thorns lorde La War] 152 & his heires Except lands in the same which I

153 prchased of Richard Nele & William Naisshe those I will remayS to the saide William Sayntmaure & his heires And in likewise I will that the manr of pepilpeis w* all the lands

(147) . Their.

(148) . Died 21st May, 1508. In the ensuing paragraph, and on page 220,

more correctly styled ' Lorde Dawbney," as he had been raised to the peerage 12th March, I486, after the battle of Bosworth. His father was William

Daubeney, of , who died January 1 1th, 1445. Henry Daubeney, his son, was created Earl of Bridgwater 19th July, 1538, and for a time was in high favour with Henry VIII. Died April 8th, 1548, buried at

South Perot. "Somerset Notes and Queries," vol. i, p. 243; Rogers' " Memorials of the West." " " (149) . This & should be omitted.

(150) . The family of Draper, of North Down, Haselborough, two miles east of Crewkerne, still held part of this land in 1796. James Draper was minister

of the Chapel of Ease to S. Per rot in 1786. In Haselborough church there is a monument to John Draper, who died September 26, 1768, aged 94. Hutchim* " " Dorset," vol. i, 480 ; Collinson's Somerset," vol. ii, 333.

(151) . The estates.

(152) . The eighth Lord Delawarr, died 1525. Burke's " Peerage."

(153) . Two miles south-west of Yeovil, near , are the remains of Nash Priory. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 219

rents & servycs thereto ptejninge be ordeyned by my feoffs to remayS to the foresaide William Sayntmawre and to his heires to do therwith & with the pcells 154 Above excepted in south- perot & northperot to hym assigned & to his heires as after

this I shall with godds iScie deuyse. It I will that my saide feoffs make A state in fee of my lands in Wanteslegh Braud- wyndsore Estecoker Westcoker Stokett vnder hamdon & Strete vpon the vosse vnto psonnes of substans su spiiall sum temporall As the souerayn155 of the place where my bodie

shall lie shall name to the nombre of xvj to ordeyn & cause to be said Daily A currant masse 156 by oon of his brethren wele disposed of the saide place in ppetuyte & he forto haue wekely xx d paied by the saide souerayn or his Assigne. And I will

the feoffs suffer hyn! to take the pfitts of the saide lands for thentent to py for my sowle The sowles of Elizabeth my wife : J ohan late my wife my father & mother sowle. my godfather & godmother sowle. the sowle of my brother William & all my brethren & suster sowles. the sowles of Jamys Ormond late Erie of Wilts Ric Pigott157 henry Bear henry horsie John

Morton158 late Cardynall of Can? & all xpen sowlis. And I will that whenne those vvj feoffs be deceascid to the nuber of

mj : that those mj make A state to other xvj psonnes tobe named

by the said soul ayn of the howse wher) I shall lie to pfo rme &

contynue the said masse Daily As is Aboue spified. And so sueyngly159 such feoffament to be renued & made by thassign-

ment & namyng of the said souerayn of the \_house~] wherl my

bodie shall lie to thentent a bouesaid ppetually to be dofl & kept Ite I will that like feoffament be made by my said feoffs to xvj parsounes or mo of all the residue of my lands wt like

(154) . Parcels.

(155) . Richard Bear, abbot of Glastonbury.

(156) . See note 82, p. 204.

(157) . One of the patrons of Nunney Rectory with Sir John and others, November 23, 1476.

(158) . from 6th Oct., 1486 to 12th Oct., 1500.

(159) . Following in succession. 220 Papers , 8fc. demeanyng theruppon to fynde with the revenues thereof scolars to Oxford eche of theym takynge mj mke by the yer! And to pcede in lernyng of Dyuinite to teache the people of

160 god in such nombre As the saide Revenues will suffise vnto : The said scolers to be named & Assigned by the foresaid

souayn of the house wher! my bodie shall lie And he to take the saide revenues by suffrans of the feoffes and make payment

to the scolars : And for his good ouersight to the masse A boue said daily to be kept and saide. And the labours that he shall susteyn for the scolers A boue spified I will the fore-

said souayne of the howse where I shall lie haue yerely C s of the lands Assigned 161 for the masse & Scolers Abouesaid. puyded that he assign the scolars in Southperot Northperot &

other my lands in SorSset shire. 162 It I will that my feoffs of my lands in deuonshire 163 make to the foresaide Giles daubney lorde Dawbney Astat to hyi2 & to his heires malis of his bodie comyng. fynding A scolar to oxford to pray for me & his heires Aforesaide as he & they will Aunswere to god therefor. The remaynder thereof to William Sayntmawre & to theires malis of his bodie coming, he and his said heires to fynde A scolar to Oxforde to py for me my Wifs and my frends as he & they Will Aunswer) to god therfor. The remaynder therof to Thomas Wode And his heires fynding A jJste to synge for the sowlis of henria Bear & for the sowlis of me & of my frends. yeuen164 the Daie And yer) A boue spified165

H^tOfofttUnt fuit prescriptum testamentum una cum ultima voluntate ejusdem xxix° die mensis Novembris A° cfrii

(160) . Ten scholars were sent. Valor Ecclesiasticus.

(161) . By the Deeds. Note 141, p. 217.

(162) . South Perot is in Dorset.

(163) . Lord Dawbney, Sir William Courtnay, kt., and John More. See Deed, 12th October, 1485.

(164) . Given.

(165) . Nevertheless this will cannot have been completed either on the 13th or 15th August, 1500, the dates written at the beginning [pp. 215, 217] and re-

ferred to here ; because at p. 219 it speaks of the late Cardinal Morton, who died Oct. 12th in the same year. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 221 m°ccccc° primo. Juramento Willi Sayntmawre militis execu- toris personaliter presentis et Magistri Jofris Reed notarii publici procuratoris aliorum executorum Ac approbatum et insinuatum Et commissa fuit administracio executoribus de bene et fideliter ac sub unanimo consuensu administrand. Ac de pleno et fideli Inventario Citra festum Natalis dni prox futur exhibend. Ad sancta dei Evangelia in debita juris forma jura?. The before-written testament together with the last will of the same was P tOt) tO on the 19th day of the month of November, a.d. 1501. 166 By the oath of William Sayntmawre knight executor personally present and Mr. John Reed public notary procurator of the other executors And it was approved and registered And the administration was committed to the executors to administer well and faithfully and with unanimous consent And to exhibit a full and faithful Inventory Before the next future Natal feast of the Lord. Also to render a full and true account. Sworn on the sacred Gospels of god in due form of law.

It is not easy to guess why Sir John directed that his

property should pass in the above manner at his wife's death ; because the Inquisition P.M. held at Exeter 22nd November,

1504, says : "John Brymptun (Sydenham) is his kinsman and next heir, and of the age of 40 years and more." Wherefore then was he disinherited and nowhere mentioned in this testa- ment ? I can only suppose that as the Sydenham family already possessed ample fortune he thought it unnecessary to distribute any part of his comparatively small estate where it was so little needed ; still it is certainly very unusual to find the children of a wife's first husband enriched by her second to the exclusion of his own direct descendants. The will, though very instructive in many ways throughout,

(166). This date is an error of the copyist. See p. 215. "

222 Papers, 8fc. raises no other special question excepting the one connected with Sir John's tomb, to which I have already alluded, 167 and we should have had no trouble with that if the document had been drafted with legal care and not by the testator himself, who at the commencement says he will " hereafter declare where he desires to be buried, but nevertheless omits to do so. Fortunately, we gather from his wife's will168 that he was interred in " the sepulture of Glastonbery," and it is concerning the unnamed site of this " Chapelle of Glastonby, late bielded by her husband and herself," that the difficulty arises.

There is in Leland's Itinerary a passage, discussed so much as to have become almost famous, which has created the need- less doubts about the position and name of the Lady Chapel, and the legitimate ones concerning the situation of the tomb. These are that author's words, copied by me verbatim from the original manuscript in the Bodleian Library : " In capella S. Marie a bor : part chori 1 sacello Joanes Biconel, miles et Elizabeth.

169 Gul : Semar, miles, i' eade volta." The best architectural history of the Glastonbury ruins with which I am acquainted has been written by Professor Willis, 170 nevertheless it requires both explanation and correction. It surprises me, for instance, to notice stated therein only as a probability instead of as an easily ascertained certainty, that

4 " the name Joseph's Chapel ' had been fixed upon the Lady

Chapel even before the Reformation " ; because the fact of Sir William Seyntmaur, his mother Dame Biconyll, and her husband Sir John, being all buried together in Leland's Lady

Chapel, I should have thought would immediately have led an inquirer to refer to their wills, if he entertained misgivings on

(167) . Page 209.

(168) . " Somerset Archaeological Proceedings," vol. xxxix, pt. I, p. 37-

(169) . "Tn the chapel of St. Mary, out of the northern part of the choir in a shrine (are) John Biconel, Knight, and Elizabeth. William Seyntmaur,

Knight, (is) in the same vault."

(170) . The Architectural History of Glastonbury Abbey, 1866. —

A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 223 the subject, when it would have become plain at once that as Dame Biconyll desired to be buried in her husband's tomb, and as her son directed his body to be laid " in Joseh Aliam-

171 mathia is chapell," consequently if these three persons were found by Leland in one chantry, in St. Mary's, both names must have been applied indiscriminately to the same structure at the time of the burials, long before the change from the

Catholic faith. Following upon this, however, the Professor pronounces an opinion on the position of the chantry tomb " which is indeed astonishing. He says : On the north side of the east part of St. Joseph's Chapel 172 there are manifest indications which shew that an attached building had been

added to it between the buttresses, which might well have been one of those parasitical chantries that occur so commonly " " in such positions ; and again : Between the N.E. turret and

the next buttress the wall is demolished, but a mass of rubble projects beyond the base line of the building, and above this are indications of some subsequent jutting appendages which may have been an oriel chamber or a stair tower." " Leland records a sepulchral chantry chapel in a position which would agree with this point. This chapel may be supposed to have been carried by an arch from buttress to buttress on the outside, so as not

to obstruct the crypt window below." I cannot admit that chantries, " parasitical " or any other sort, are common in such a position, for I have never seen or heard of one which—like Muhammad's coffin, suspended between heaven and earth was built on an arch resting on two buttresses to avoid blocking

a window. Is it not also a wildly comprehensive guess and nothing more, to surmise that a very small shapeless fragment of rubble " may have been an Oriel chamber, or a stair tower," " or a " parasitical chantry ? A solution of the puzzle where this chantry stood, depends chiefly on the sense implied in Leland's words, " a boreali parte chori." He may have

(171) . See his will in Somerset House.

(172) . This is misleading : he means the Galilee vestibule. 224 Papers, 8fc. intended to say that the shrine was built out from or against the wall on the inside of the first bay of the Galilee, where indeed it could well have been ; or that it was outside in the burial ground, and approached from the door in the second bay ; but then it must have been nearly impossible to avoid interfering with the crypt lights, and a covered approach could not entirely advantageously have been constructed. But Leland, who wrote very bad Latin, perhaps only meant after all that the chantry was in the northern part of the choir, calling St. Mary's chapel itself by that name, and thus desig- nating, not the Galilee porch, but more correctly what was strictly also St. Joseph's chapel. From the words " in capella S Marie .... in sacello," as well as from the direction of Sir William Seyntmaur, that he was to be buried in St. Joseph's chapel, no one would naturally look for the tomb outside the main wall. It is consequently conceivable, and if

St. Joseph's had been a large edifice I should have said it was highly probable, that the shrine was erected at a very short distance from the internal face of the north wall, a little east

of the existing doorway, opposite the third bay ; hence its total disappearance is accounted for by the falling of the floor

carrying the whole structure with it into the crypt ; the coffins, either before or after this happened, having been rifled and stolen for the value of the lead, whilst the debris of the chantry in course of time would have been cleared away when the crypt was emptied of its ruin. Dame Biconyll survived her husband rather less than two years, for she died June 30th, 1504, and her will is the comple- ment to his. ]73

I have mentioned that Sir John's testament was written with his own hand, and I have shown how his carelessness has

caused confusion in certain names and localities at Glastonbury ; but the text being so executed has the partly compensating ad-

(173). In the text published by the Som. Arch. Soc, vol. xxxix, p. 37-42, the date 1500 at the beginning has been copied wrongly for 1504. A Forgotten Chancellor and Canon. 225

vantage of proving that the knight possessed a somewhat unusual accomplishment for that period, in being able to write as well as to fight. The circumstance, moreover, that he and his wife, between them, provided for ten scholars being sent to Oxford, likewise indicates that they were in advance of their day in the

value they attached to education, and, in spite of their super- stitious devotion to priests and their observances were far from regarding knowledge as useless and profane. One moral, the utter vanity of planning or endowing for ages to come, can

scarcely fail deeply, almost painfully, to impress the reader of

these wills, especially if perchance he sympathises at all with the earnest spirit of people who lived in such a differently think- ing age, whose ways we can realize but imperfectly, and whose like we shall see no more. For do we not find here arrange- ments establishing chantries, obits, priests, and scholars, legacies to cathedrals, abbeys, churches, with ordinances solemnly en-

rolled, to last for all future time ? And yet, within a few years, the decrees of the rapacious Henry and his "harsh and dogmatic" son, 174 swept everything away. Whatever we may believe concerning the necessity for extensive reform, few will deny it was often a cruel wrong, perpetrated by force, under false pretences, when these pious bequests were utterly annulled in the 16th century, and not merely all the money and artistic treasure, but the very shrines and sanctuaries, wantonly des- poiled and ruined. One might almost imagine that these gifts, by what the poet calls their " unfortunate beauty," 174 involved their donors in one common doom, because thenceforth the history of the wealthy and powerful Paveleys, their descen- dants, and many of their friends, recedes into a mediaeval twilight, obscure to the genealogist.

(174) . "Annals of England." Oxford, supervised by Dr. W. Stubbs. Many of the most splendid shrines, including Becket's, were destroyed in 1538,

and the operation of the Acts 1st Ed. VI, cap. iv, and 3rd and 4th, Ed. VI, cap. 10, completed the work.

(175) . " Dono infelice di bellezza." Filicaja.

New Series, Vol. XX., 1894, Part 11. if 226 Papers, 8fc.

During the long reign of Elizabeth, the very name of Paveley came near extinction, whilst the enamelled arms of

Sir Reginald, in St. Greorge's Chapel, are to-day the chief visible reminiscence of its old renown.